Passion for current affairs

Neena Mairata

AS A UNI STUDENT in Western Australia many years ago, Neena Mairata loved watching Indira Naidoo present the news on TV.

“I felt inspired by her; she was everything that I myself was”.

Upon completing her Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies at Murdoch Uni, she set about knocking on doors to get a foot in the media, to emulate her Indian-origin role model. But ABC and SBS were the only avenues open for ‘ethnics’, and even there, opportunities were limited.

“I was quite disheartened, and so gladly accepted a job back home in my home country Malaysia, reading the news in Malay”.

Her husband found work in TV production in Singapore. When Mediacorp launched a news channel in Singapore, Neena began anchoring the news on its flagship bulletin News 5 Tonight

She also freelanced for various publications in the ten years she lived there.

“By now I had had two kids and we wanted to raise them in Australia, so I began to look for opportunities here”.

This time round, with all the media experience behind her, Neena was snapped up by the ABC, presenting news on its Australia Network.

“Meanwhile, an opportunity opened up at SBS,” Neena recalls. “I had always wanted to work with SBS, and although I was enjoying my work at Australia Network, the overnight shifts had begun to get to me”.

Neena replaced SBS newsreader Amrita Cheema in June 2008 on World News Australia

SBS news had gone through a tumultuous time with its star cast of Mary Kostakidis and Stan Grant leaving the network after some widely-publicised disputes. Newcomers Neena and Ben Fajzullin joined Anton Enus and Janice Petersen in bringing in some stability to the news show that has been described as “taking the world seriously”.

Neena has a passion for news and current affairs, and gets a good grip on major world news before she gets into work every day. But ask her the stories she has enjoyed doing, and she will work and putting the print edition online and as I am a bit of a nerd, that helps in other technical aspects of online work.

Starting from scratch in Australia didn’t demotivate me. Fortunately in journalism you don’t need to fit to an Australian qualification like you do for some other trades like medicine or law. You have to be mentally prepared to start at the bottom and maybe stay there. I was 40 when I came here, and I had already seen the peak of my career. Once you have done that, nothing else can compare.

Journalism is a shrinking field. To stay on top of this or any other field there is a lot of marketing involved. My advice to new migrants is to make yourself visible, keep pushing, make friends with journalists and you may be fortunate or not. It’s like a lottery. One thing that migrants should do is to have someone to guide them about the nature of Australian society. Some things they do back home will not work here or may be considered impolite. Similarly, some things done here may not be accepted in another country. Some kind of cultural grooming helps to assimilate better.

The violence against Indian/international students could have been stopped if Australia had dealt with it properly in the first place. It would have been better if all relevant authorities had called it what it was. Instead they chose to fudge things and deny the real issues. It’s most likely the attacks were racially motivated. If you go out especially during late nights you see Indians driving taxis, operating petrol stations, even on the 7/11 counter, and they are very visible. Local people who don’t have jobs feel that Indians are taking their jobs. They probably don’t want those jobs, but there is a sense of entitlement here. Many people still see migrants as a threat to their jobs. These uneducated people do not understand that every migrant who gets a job here brings in a whole set of other benefits to the system.

The allegation of Australia being a racist country was a bit over the top, but if something like this was to happen to Australians in any other country they would also create a lot of noise. If Australians were being beaten up with this kind of frequency in any other country the press coverage would have been ten times more, especially in tabloids. Personally, I have not encountered any racism at work. The Age has a good work culture and they accept people from everywhere.

I wrote an article on Indian students in June 2009, which speaks for the culture and not a single word was changed. I wrote that article on a whim, expressing my sense of unease, but then I promptly put those feelings aside, because that is what the perpetrators want you to feel, they pick the ones with a human interest angle.

“One story that really touched me was on the Cuban child Elian Gonsalves, the sole survivor from a boat carrying refugees that sank midway between Cuba and Miami. I became quite attached to the story as I reported on it over a few days. The diplomatic wrangle that ensued became quite complex, and I felt for the child. I was trying to fall pregnant myself at the time, and when my son was born, I named him Elian”.

Neena takes her motherhood role very seriously. “The kids are in bed when I get home from work by 10pm, but I make sure the mornings are smooth and happy before they go off to school. I do feel guilty that I am not there when they come home form school”.

There’s a home-cooked meal ready for them for the evening, which Neena organises before she takes in the news of the day. And of course, schoolwork - especially those projects and assignments - gets special attention from mum (Neena had been out in the open collecting snails for a science project just before catching up for this interview).

Speaking of her own Indian links, Neena describes herself as a “4th or 5th generation” Indian, with roots in Tamil Nadu.

“My mum is Chinese Eurasian, so I’ve been brought up within both Indian and Chinese cultures. Christmas and Diwali are celebrated with equal fervour”. Neena understands Tamil although she cannot speak it, but loves to cook Indian meals and to wear saris. She has never been to India. And what advice would Neena have for youngsters in the community seeking a career in mainstream media?

“Decide which way you want to go – print, radio, TV or online, but also be prepared to be flexible, as news is going across platforms now. Have a real passion for current affairs. And hone your editorial skills; be impartial, and provide a balanced view”.

Rajni Anand Luthra

want us to be scared. I will continue exactly as I did before and not give them any satisfaction on that count.

We have to accept that some people will always have bad feelings about other people, but that does not mean you go and punch them in the face. The encouragement to punch someone and get away with it comes from the system. It comes from politicians not sending out the right message and if the Government and Police don’t come out and take a strong stand against this issue, this will embolden people and blow it up. India is a global power now and as a lot of money is coming from here, Australia seems to be taking more notice of this issue.

I have lived in several countries and met some very good people, especially here in Australia. I have met people of real calibre and I don’t want allegations of racism etc. to reflect on them. My first editor used to treat me like anybody else and not walk on eggshells because I was from another ethnicity. I liked that. I probably would have felt out of place if I was treated differently.

We shouldn’t ask for special treatment if we are black or brown; we should just ask to be treated equally.

Sam Varghese of The Age spoke to Preeti Jabbal. Read the full interview on www.indianlink.com.au